A Bad Helmet and a Good Mask
by timewaster123456789
Summary: Just a standard Mokuba is in an accident brotherfic, made up of 22 vignettes. No ships but, plenty of Yugi and the gang and a bit of intrigue.


**A/n: I own nothing. A/n 2: Check out Nietzsche's Itch's fics esp. 'universal language'.**

 **A/N 3:Basically I Was looking for some Mokuba gets hurt fics and none were to my taste so I thought I try my hand at one.**

* * *

 **Accident**

* * *

Yugi was leaving school when he heard his name called. He looked up to see Mokuba riding his bike over from the elementary school. He waved back and Mokuba turned to cross the street. Yugi saw the little green coupe blow the red light. He yelled out as time seemed to slow down. Brakes squealed, Mokuba tried to turn, the bike went flying, Mokuba with it and everything froze. Then he was rushing towards Mokuba, a teenage girl dropped to her knees next to him wailing hysterically. Yugi was numb with shocked as he tried to examine Mokuba. The little boy was unconscious and covered in blood. It occurred to Yugi that he might be dead and every other thought left his mind. He was only vaguely aware of Tristan calling 911 and Jounouchi kneeling beside him, checking for a pulse.

Everything blurred together until the ambulance came to take him away.

"Are any of you his family or know how to contact them?" one paramedic asked.

"No we're friends but uh yeah we'll contact him," Jounouchi answered shakily.

"Can I ride with him?" Yugi asked, tears beginning to flow down his face as the shock wore off. The paramedic shrugged.

"Just don't be in the way he's critical," he respond before jumping in the ambulance after Mokuba with Yugi quickly following.

Something occurred to Yugi and he yelled back through his tears, "Let me call Kaiba Jou. It'd be better coming from…" The door slammed shut on the rest of his sentence but Jounouchi gave a rueful nod of acknowledgement.

* * *

 **Notification**

* * *

Kaiba's phone rang in middle of the meeting. Irritated but, knowing that Mokuba wouldn't call unless it was something serious he answered.

"Yes?"

"Kaiba?" Yugi's voice sounded rough, like he had a sore throat.

"Obviously," he snapped. Why was that wimp calling him in the middle of a business day.

"Th-th-there was an accident,"Yugi said his voice breaking at the end. Kaiba felt ice flow through his veins. _Stay calm._

"What happened," he asked sharply.

"Mo…M-Mokuba was hit by a c-car. I'm so sorry," Yugi answered brokenly. Kaiba's world shattered. He swallowed.

"Is he dead?" Kaiba asked, damning himself for the slight quaver when he said 'dead'.

"No we're on the way to the hospital," Yugi replied with a sniff. _Shit shit shit._

"Okay I'll be there shortly," he said, hanging up. He swallowed again, scanning the half dozen business associates in the room as he forced the news from his mind, forced himself to think clinically. As likely as not someone in this room had arranged the accident. Three looked vaguely surprised, two annoyed though Iza was trying to hide it. He would have sworn he saw a sadistic smile quirking the lips of the last two but, then Isshin and Jack would give their right hand just to see him trip so that was hardly surprising.

"I apologize but, I will have to call this meeting to a close. Some family matters have arisen which I must see to immediately," He explained already packing up his PowerPoint equipment while surreptitiously watching their reactions. Within ten minutes he was on the way to the hospital.

* * *

 **Karma?**

* * *

Yugi and Jounouchi had been sitting in the waiting room for the longest half hour of Yugi's life. Tristan had gone to the cafeteria. Yugi wiped more tears away, he just couldn't understand how something so random could happen to an innocent kid. Jounouchi laid a hand on his shoulder and Yugi said as much.

"Maybe it's Karma from moneybags and the universe was just a bit off target," Jounouchi said roughly with a forced laugh.

"That's not funny," Yugi said aghast. "However much you hate Kaiba, Mokuba's just a kid."

"I know, I know," Jounouchi said rubbing his eyes. "I'm worried about him too."

Kaiba walked in then and after hesitating a moment strode over to Yugi.

"Do you know anything new?" he asked without inflection. That surprised Yugi for a moment, before he remembered who he was talking to.

"No they haven't said anything yet," he said, watching the elder Kaiba's eyes, they were cold as ever. Kaiba nodded, took a seat as far from them as he could and set up a laptop. Yugi thought he saw the CEO's hand shaking, as he took two attempts to plug it in before setting to work. Yugi couldn't help but wonder if maybe karma had been right on target after all.

* * *

 **Prognosis**

* * *

A doctor came out of the emergency room and Yugi leapt up with Jounouchi right behind him. Kaiba stood, slightly too fast to be nonchalant—why he was trying to be was beyond Yugi— and joined them.

"Which of you is Mokuba's brother," the doctor asked. Yugi and Jounouchi took a step back.

"I'm sorry to tell you but, he's in pretty bad shape. We're taking him into surgery now to relieve the pressure on his brain. If he makes it through the next twenty-four hours he should live," The doctor addressed Kaiba matter-of-factly. There was a moment of silence.

"What are the odds?" asked Kaiba in a measured tone.

"Sixty percent, maybe eighty if he hasn't had any prior concussions,"

"He's had one," Kaiba said. His voice was still steady but Yugi thought he noted a hint of panic. Then again that might have just been Yugi's own brain going into freak-out mode.

"Then closer to sixty, seventy at the upper limit. We'll keep you informed" the doctor said, fidgeting a bit. Kaiba nodded and returned to his seat as the doctor left. Yugi watched the CEO return to his work and though he showed no sign of distress other than a deathly pale face, Yugi's heart went out to him. He walked over and put his hand on Kaiba's shoulder only to have it immediately shaken off.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Yugi said worried and crestfallen.

"Really and why is that? Because I'm sure he'll have a sixty percent chance of _living_ ," the CEO said acid dripping from his words.

"Hey that was un-called for!" Jounouchi barked. Kaiba shrugged returning to his work.

"Leave it," said Yugi quietly pulling Jounouchi's sleeve to follow him back to their seats, "He has enough on his mind." He glanced back to see Kaiba uncharacteristically scrub a hand through his hair before resuming typing.

* * *

 **Limbo**

* * *

Three hours later the doctor returned. Kaiba tried to stand as slowly as possible, _just another employee who needed something, s_ peaking of which he should buy a hospital eventually. He walked over trying not to let show how drained he felt. Yugi and his boyfriends were crowding around with the girl as well. _Great,_ he really wished they go away.

"He made it through the surgery. You can talk to him when he wakes up," the doctor said calmly. Kaiba closed his eyes and suppressed a sigh of relief. Wait something wasn't right, something in the doctor's professional clipped voice. The voice he used on the rare occasions he had to cover losses with shareholders.

"So he _will_ wake up?" he asked, trying not to get his hopes up.

"Most likely," was the reply. He _really_ hoped he didn't look as crushed as he felt, the mutt would never let him hear the end of it.

"When will you know one way or another?" he asked, hammering any trace of defeat or anxiety from his voice.

"If he wakes up within the next twelve hours,"

"Thank you," Kaiba said dismissal in the tone. He returned to his seat, sitting ramrod straight as he went back to seeking information online about Isshin and Jack.

* * *

 **Yugi interlude 1**

* * *

Honda and Jounouchi had managed to drag Yugi and Anzu down to the cafeteria and they were devouring their food in silence when Anzu spoke up.

"I know Kaiba is a cold fish but, isn't he taking this a bit too calmly?" she asked.

"For a normal person yeah. I know I'd be a wreck if something happened to serenity but, moneybags is a sociopath. Doesn't care 'bout anythin' but that damn company," Jounouchi replied.

"I-I don't know. I think maybe he's just trying to take his mind off things," Yugi piped in.

"It's still weird," said Anzu. Yugi shrugged.

"Speaking of Kaiba, it's been like eight hours has he eaten?" asked Yugi.

"Who cares?" asked Jounouchi as Anzu and Honda shrugged. They moved their now empty trays and Yugi ordered an extra sandwich.

They made their way back to the waiting room and Yugi handed the sandwich to Kaiba. Kaiba took it stone-faced and set it on the chair beside him. Yugi thought he looked worn, despite the ice-cold eyes. He took his own seat, crestfallen that Kaiba still wasn't eating.

"See still a dick," said Jounouchi firmly and loudly enough for the subject to hear. Kaiba didn't react, it struck Yugi as strange. It was the same Kaiba, Perfect posture, expression betraying nothing but, it was as though he had taken all the energy he normally put into fighting and directed it to whatever he was doing on the laptop. Highly disconcerting, he always dropped everything to argue with Jounouchi.

* * *

 **Reprieve**

* * *

Kaiba was exhausted—far more than he should have been—by the time Yugi's crew left. He took advantage of the reprieve, slumping in his seat to rub a hand over tired eyes, before turning his attention back to his laptop. He was getting absolutely nowhere. No odd phone records or credit card purchases, nothing to link either Isshin or Jack to the accident. Perhaps he was wrong about their involvement. The only other avenue would be to talk to the woman involved and that would have to wait. He wished to do it in person and all the hounds of hell couldn't drag him away right.

Mokuba. He closed his eyes for a moment. He should have been there. If he'd been in school rather than at the meeting he could have walked his brother home or…something. Never mind that he'd done that a hundred times and Mokie had been fine. It was still his fault, goddamnit. Shit he needed to get back to research or he was going to breakdown like one of Yugi's pathetic little pack. He changed the search parameters, reading up on Mokie's injuries and had been at it for ten minutes when Yugi walked up and handed him a sandwich. He should have said something biting but, he just didn't have it in him so he silently accepted it, even though he had no appetite to the point of nausea.

* * *

 **Relief**

* * *

It was almost midnight when the doctor returned. Kaiba stood stiffly, refusing to let his fear and exhaustion show.

"He's awake now. He's still pretty out of it from the drugs so we won't know how much rehab he'll need until their out of his system but you can see him now," the doctor said in a clipped tone. Kaiba swallowed, exhaling slowly before walking down the hall after the doctor. He glared at Yugi's company and they dropped back, waiting.

He walked into his brother's room slowly, quietly, nervous about what he'd find.

"Hey Mokie," he said cautiously.

"Heh S-sseto," Mokuba slurred, struggling to sit up.

"its okay stay there," Kaiba said. He sat down in the plastic chair next to the bed. He held his brother's hand.

"Hurrrtss," Mokuba said.

"I know but, you'll be okay now," he said. He watched his brother, seeing him for the first time since the accident. He had a broken arm and his head was wrapped in bandages but, he was alive. Seto felt tears of relief pricking behind his eyes. He stood to retrieve cups of water from the room's dispenser before Mokuba could notice. He turned back handing one to Mokuba.

"Be 'kay?" Mokuba asked. Seto took another sip to keep his voice from cracking, before he responded.

"Sure, we've handled worse," he replied. Mokuba gave a drugged smile and Seto returned it calm and steady. Hearing the door open he looked up to see Yugi's crew.

"Can we see him?" Yugi asked. Well at least he asked. He saw Mokuba's face light up and shrugged.

"All your's," he said, sweeping from the room.

He made his way quickly to the bathroom and rested his fists on the edge of the sink. Eyes closed, head bowed, his breathing was coming too rapidly. It was going to be okay Mokie was alive, talking, _breathing._ All the stress of the last day washed over him and he drew a shaky breath. He had to get a grip before One of Yugi's pals caught him. A few more calming breaths, he splashed some water on his face, dried off and straightened. Looking in the mirror he inspected the effect. He looked tired but, he didn't _look_ like he wanted to curl up in the fetal position. He could face people without damaging his image, without worrying Mokie. That would have to do.

* * *

 **Yugi Interlude 2**

* * *

Yugi walked into Mokuba's room followed by his friends as Kaiba strode past them arrogant as ever. Jounouchi shoulder checked him a little as he passed but, he seemed not to notice.

"Hey, how are ya' doing," Yugi asked, when Kaiba was gone.

"Betta'," Mokuba rasped with a shaky smile.

"You really had us worried," Yugi said his voice shaking with relief.

"Yeah kid," Jounouchi chimed in. Anzu practically collapsed in the room's sole chair wiping away happy tears.

"S-sry..sssry," Mokuba tried to apologize.

"No I didn't mean it like that," Yugi said hurriedly. "We're just glad that you're doing better," his own eyes filled with tears of relief and guilt as he spoke, he hadn't meant to upset Mokuba.

"s'kay Yug," Mokuba slurred earnestly, "SSSe…Seto said." Yugi looked away.

"You're taking this really well," Jounouchi said.

"Yeah we've got a right tough guy here," Honda added with an appreciative laugh. Mokuba tried to shrug through his bandages.

"S-Seto s'not wori…wor…worried. Wh-why'd I be?" Mokuba asked, as though genuinely confused. Yugi wondered what it must like to have such complete faith in something. Kaiba's strange calm made a lot more sense to Yugi and he raised an eyebrow at Anzu. She nodded in understanding. He wondered what it would be like to be the one that had to live up to such faith and shivered.

* * *

 **Assessment**

* * *

Three days had passed, Three days of trying to focus on work and spending every other free moment at the hospital. Today Mokuba was going to be assessed so that he could start his rehab. It was taking all Kaiba had to keep his anxiety in check. His brother hadn't shown much improvement, even once the drugs left his system and he could tell that the doctors were worried. Taking a deep breath he schooled his features into an authoritative mask and strode into the hospital, resisting the urge to punch the lone paparazzi brave enough to try getting a stupid tabloid pic.

Before he could enter Mokuba's room a doctor stopped him.

"Hello . My name is Dr. Kuro, I'll be conducting your brother's assessment," Dr. Kuro said.

"Thank you," said Kaiba, impatient.

"I must tell you that he should have shown more improvement in speech and cognition once he recovered from surgery. We will do all we can but, I suggest you make arrangements in the event that his rehabilitation takes an extended period of time," Dr. Kuro said. Kaiba felt his heart freeze, though it was no worse than he'd suspected.

"Thank you for your candor," he said coldly, following the doctor into Mokuba's room. His brother's face immediately lit. He gave a confident, reassuring smile and hoped it didn't look as fake as it was.

The verbal portion of the test went…badly. Mokuba was almost crying in frustration as he slurred and tripped through the exercises. It was killing Kaiba to watch, though he kept any sign off his face for Mokuba's sake.

"It's ok Mokie, just try again," he murmured as Mokuba stumbled over 'I woke up and went to the store'.

"I think that's about as far as we can go with the speech assessment," said Dr. Kuro. Kaiba repressed a sigh of relief. "We'll move on to the cognitive assessment," he finished. Mokuba's lip trembled.

"It's okay Mokie you're almost done," he said calmly, sending a death glare at Dr. Kuro. The cognitive part went almost as badly with Mokuba having a particularly hard time with math. After a short motor skills portion the doctor thanked them and left. Mokuba grabbed clumsily for Kaiba sobbing into his shirt. As he held Mokuba and whispered words of comfort he remembered that he was only seventeen. He'd never thought of that as 'young' before.

* * *

 **Lie**

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since the accident and Mokuba had just finished another painful and fruitless rehab session. He sat on Kaiba's lap in his hospital room, sobbing out all his frustration. Kaiba was exhausted, he'd barely slept since the accident and was rather raw himself. He hated watching Mokuba struggle with the simplest tasks, would have given anything just to have his brother whole and healthy.

"It's going to be okay Mokie," he said, forcing his voice to be steady and strong.

"Wh-what i-i-if I n-n-never get be'a? W-w-what iffff I-I can' go b-b-back to sk-sk –ssschul," Mokuba sobbed. He was nearly unintelligible between the crying and his speech issues but Kaiba was used to it by now.

"You WILL get better. You just have to give it time. We'll get tutors until you get caught up in school and I'm sure Yugi and your other friends will come over to keep you company," he said. They _would_ come one way or another. Mokuba had calmed slightly now and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

"I'm ggggoing to gk..gic…get better?" he asked hopefully. Kaiba hesitated not knowing if a potentially false hope would be better or worse than scaring him with the darker options. Screw it, he had no idea, was exhausted and quite simply didn't have the heart to break Mokuba's fragile hope.

"Absolutely and I'll do everything in my power to help you," he said, hoping he was right.

"I k-k-know N-n-nisima..niisama," Mokuba said, relaxing.

"I have to go to work now Mokie," he said hesitantly. Mokuba's gaze clouded. "You know work, Kaibacorp," he added. Recognition dawned on Mokuba's face and he nodded. It sent a stab through Kaiba's heart. Mokuba was such a bright kid.

He left the hospital and got into his car. He always drove his own to visit Mokie, rather than take the limo, he was extremely grateful for that fact now. He rested his head on the steering wheel and for first time since the accident, the first time in years actually, silent tears slid down his face. He'd lied to Mokie. After a few moments he wiped his eyes and composed himself. He had a meeting to get to and he was already running late.

* * *

 **Lady**

* * *

It'd been two weeks since the accident, to the day. Mokuba would be hanging out with Yugi's crew so, for the first time since the whole thing started he had a couple of free hour hours. He pulled into the local jail and parked.

He walked in and spoke to the guard.

"I have an appointment to speak with a Valdez-san," he said.

"Ah yes. Right this way," the guard replied. He followed and took a seat on one side of the glass meeting room. A girl was led in; she couldn't have been out of her teens with blond hair, a slinky body even under the jumpsuit and a flighty expression. So this was the women who'd destroyed his brother. She looked like another brainless, annoying high schooler. Her eye's widened when she saw him.

"You're that CEO aren't?" she asked.

"Yes, and you are Valdez-san?" he replied coldly, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Yeah, why are you here?" she asked, a strange expression flitting across her features.

"You hit my brother," he replied.

"Oh," she said her mouth tightening. She seemed nervous. _Good._

"Tell me everything about the accident," he said.

"Well you see my little sister Ch-Charity she has cancer…a man…he called a few weeks ago. He said he would p-pay for her treatment if I injured j-just i-injured this boy. I-I needed the money," she was openly weeping now. Against his will Kaiba felt sympathy warring with his anger, as he remembered the lengths he'd gone to for Mokuba. He took a breath.

"Tell me everything about the man who called you and I might be able to get your sentence reduced," he said, it was the only way he could think of to coax out the information. She sniffled.

"H-he had money obviously…he did pay up. His voice was r-really deep," she paused sniffing.

"Anything else?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

"N-ot really…we only ever spoke on the phone," she said, her voice cracking.

"Thank you. I will see what I can arrange as far as your sentencing," he said. He left rage burning in him, so Jack it was then, the envious bastard. He drove toward the mansion forming his strategy as he went.

* * *

 **Home**

* * *

"You ready Mokie," Kaiba asked as Mokuba pulled on his coat.

"Th-thik so," he replied. His jaw was tight and he looked like he was trying not to cry.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba asked, concerned. _Everything,_ a voice at the back of his head whispered.

"N-not sure im reada to liv..leave," Mokuba said. _Oh, obviously._ After three weeks Kaiba had been so happy to have Mokuba released, it hadn't occurred to him how jarring the transition would be for his brother. He mentally kicked himself.

"There's really nothing worry about. I have a nice nurse to look after you while I'm at work, there'll be tutors and your friends can still visit," he said trying to sound cheerful. Mokuba's expression didn't change. "If you really don't want to, I can arrange for you to stay here until you feel ready," he amended.

"I-its 'kay. J-jusst sc-sc-scared," Mokuba said. Kaiba couldn't tell if he was emotional or merely struggling with his words. He hugged his brother regardless.

"There's nothing to be scared of. I'm taking the next two days off until you get settled in," he said.

"'Kay," Mokuba said. When Kaiba released him he looked a little surer, which was good because Kaiba was now terrified and if Mokuba had still been concerned he would have made sure he could stay. He was pretty sure that would slow his brother's recovery but he would have done it. Instead he pasted on an encouraging smile and helped his brother to the car, trying not to grimace every time he stumbled or had to be pulled away from the wall, because he was unable to hold a straight line. His motor functions had improved more quickly than his speech and mental faculties but he still demonstrated symptoms similar to Parkinson's. It made Kaiba sick to watch, he wasn't used to feeling so helpless and knowing how frustrated his brother was getting just made it worse.

As he drove them home he held Mokuba's hand and rambled on about Kaibacorp. He'd learned early on that two-sided conversations just depressed the boy with his difficulty joining but, he liked listening to Kaiba talk. It seemed to distract him. The fact that he was no longer able to grasp some of the deeper economic maneuvering didn't seem to bother him half as much as it bothered Kaiba himself.

He tried to keep it simple but, it was more for his own sake than Mokuba's. Once in a while Mokuba would ask for clarification and he would keep trying to explain until Mokuba grasped it, elated. He would forget within the day but, he didn't realize he'd forgotten so again it only sucked for the one who knew. You can't mourn for something you don't know you've lost. Kaiba felt guilty as hell for it, what right did he have to feel bad, when HE was the one who couldn't protect his brother and HE wasn't the one suffering. Much to his shame he couldn't really seem to help it but, he could hide it.

They arrived home and he helped his brother into the house. Standing outside was an attractive Brunette woman of about five-six and two lean men in their late thirties one blonde, the other darker of hair and skin.

"Mokuba this is your nurse Miyo Yarumi. She will be with you whenever I can't be. These are Drs. Makenju and Gotenyu, they will be your rehab specialists and will see you on your regular schedule," he said.

"Hi," Mokuba said clumsily holding out his hand. They all shook hands with the boy.

"Thank you for your time," Kaiba addressed them. He'd paid extra to get this early introduction, thinking it would make Mokuba more comfortable. They left as he walked Mokuba into the mansion proper.

"So what would like to do?" he asked.

"Sl-Sl…"

"Sleep?" asked Kaiba, with a sad smile. Mokuba nodded and Kaiba could see lines of exhaustion on his face. "Would you like me to bring you some food?" he asked, as he helped his brother to his room. He nodded again.

"What would you like?"

S-s-snawitch," Mokuba said. Kaiba settled him in his bed and went to the kitchen trying to remember what Mokie's favorite sandwich was.

* * *

 **Friends**

* * *

It had been almost a month since Mokuba's accident, he was home from the hospital now and things had more or less fallen back into routine. Yugi found it quite disturbing how easily that had happened. The only real difference was that Kaiba showed up at school even less than usual. That was understandable he supposed. He'd been a couple of times since Mokuba had gone home but, Yugi was pretty sure that it was the absolute minimum that he could get away with. Today was one of those days and he saw the CEO approach, wearing a standard look of arrogant disdain. It was almost but, not quite, enough to distract Yugi from the worn lines of stress on his face and dark circles under his eyes.

"Hello Yugi and others," he said.

"Hey," said Yugi.

"The hell do you want? We were having a good day," Jounouchi snapped. Yugi shook his head _not helpful._

"So was I but, this couldn't be help," he said. A bitter edge to the words made Yugi think he was sniping by rote rather than genuinely looking to argue. Jounouchi and Honda raised matching eyebrows in skepticism; Yugi was merely concerned for Mokuba. "I will give you each three-hundred dollars a day to visit Mokuba twice a week for at least three hours," he said bluntly. Jounouchi's jaw hit the floor, Honda's eyes widened and Yugi felt stunned.

"We would have just come. We figured he'd let us know when he wanted visitors," Yugi said, smiling sadly

"Sold," Joey rasped at the same time, and then glared at Yugi. For a moment a look of sadness entered Kaiba's eyes and his jaw tightened as though in pain, in the next instant he was stone-faced as usual.

"His speech hasn't yet returned to the point where he wants to speak on the phone," he said. There was a brittle quality to his voice, like iron, corroded almost past use. "Just show up, if I'm not there Roland will pay you," he finished and strode away.

"We really don't mind. You don't need to pay us," Yugi called but received no response.

* * *

 **Yugi Interlude 3**

* * *

"I'm just sayin' It's kind of fucked up, pawning his own brother off on us," Honda said, as they stood on the steps Kaiba mansion waiting to be let in.

"Hey who wouldn't prefer our company?" Jounouchi asked with a laugh.

"Could you guys at least pretend to know what 'tact' is?" asked Yugi. Anzu laughed behind her hand. Roland opened the door, silently doled out their payment to Yugi's disgust and Jounouchi's barely hidden elation. He then led them to a living room where Mokuba was sitting on a sofa watching tv, an attractive woman sat in the nearby armchair. The boy beamed on seeing them and stumbled over. Yugi's heart ached at the sight.

"Y-y-you guz came!" he cried in a mixture of happiness and surprise.

"Of course we did," said Yugi, guiltily.

"Obviously," Honda said at the same time.

"We would have come sooner if we'd known you were ready," Jounouchi added. Mokuba looked a little uncertain, before brightening.

"Im gli-gl…glad to seeyu," Mokuba said. Yugi assumed that meant 'see you'.

"Who's the hottie?" asked Jounouchi in a stage whisper.

"M-my n-nr….nse….my nurse," he answered frowning, a blush rising on his cheeks.

"I'll go into the other room while you guys hang but, if you need anything let me know," she said, pretending not to have heard.

"What do you want to do?" Yugi asked.

"Tell me wh…whaz hapa-hapnin'," he answered.

"What was that?" asked Yugi, leaning closer.

"Feel lef oot," he said. Yugi looked at the others helplessly.

"He said he feels out of the loop," Anzu explained sadly. So they talked to him for a while explaining what'd been going on. After that Jounouchi had stupidly offered to play video games to which Mokuba simply gestured with his cast.

"C-c-could prc-prac…pratuck….Puh-rack-tuh…" Mokuba gave up and retrieved a duel monsters deck from the tv stand holding it up.

"Oh sure," Yugi said.

"Nisma is teaching me gin," Mokuba said.

"Kaiba is re-teaching you?" Anzu asked. Mokuba nodded. After an hour of Mokuba struggling with even basic math and anything above the basic mechanics of the game Yugi was astounded. He'd never taken the CEO for a patient guy but, even Yugi was getting frustrated. He looked at clock and immediately felt guilty for his disappointment, another hour to go.

"How often does Kaiba practice with you?" he asked.

"Ev' day since home," Mokuba replied happily.

* * *

 **Exhaustion**

* * *

Kaiba entered his mansion tense. The meeting had ended early so he expected that Yugi and his friends would still be there. He walked into the main living room and winced upon finding his brother playing Duel Monsters with his 'friends'. He was really glad he'd paid them. Then again it wasn't like Mokuba could play video games or play outside so… Yugi looked up, shaking him from his thoughts. He gestured and Yugi walked over.

"How much longer are you here for?" he asked.

"However long you need," Yugi shrugged casually but, his apprehension was obvious. _Just give me a straight answer._

"How long before your three hours are up?" he asked, a trace of exhaustion slipping into in his voice.

"Fifty minutes," he replied. Kaiba closed his eyes briefly.

With a nod of acknowledgement he walked away. He should have said he didn't need them but…whatever. He was paying , he owed them nothing. Except his brother's happiness, Mokie had missed having other people to play with, even more than he'd expected.

He made his way to his bedroom on third floor, almost tripping twice on the stairs. _Keep this up and I'll be as bad as Mokie,_ he thought bitterly. It was no less than he deserved. He locked the door, set his alarm for fifty minutes and practically collapsed onto the bed. He wanted to sleep desperately but, this was the first chance he'd really had to just _breathe,_ in…however long. His mind was racing, from hopeful thoughts to depressing, back to hopeful then bitter. He was so damn _tired,_ even beyond what he'd felt 'training' under his foster father. He hated feeling like he was walking out on Mokie but a tiny part of him couldn't help but feel grateful.

The alarm was going off, he made a cursory attempt to look presentable given that he'd slept fully clothed and headed down to Mokuba. Jounouchi and Honda were already walking out. He found Yugi still practicing with Mokuba. The boy looked up in surprise and walked over.

"Oh I figured you'd be asleep," Yugi said, relief written on his face. Kaiba shook his head.

"No need, you may leave now," he said.

"I don't mind staying, I'm sure you could use a break," Yugi said, the first part an obvious lie the second, painfully true.

"He's my _brother_ I don't need a break from him," he said, exhaustion and stress making his voice shake slightly. Yugi nodded, said his goodbyes and left with tears in his eyes. Kaiba settled down to his nightly ritual with Mokuba.

* * *

 **Chase**

* * *

Kaiba smiled a sadistic smile, as he read the report again. He'd been sitting in his office at Kaibacorp eating lunch when he'd finally found what he was looking for. He paused, his sandwich halfway to his mouth, _Got you, bastard._

Jack had disappeared shortly after his conversation with Valdez. He finally had a credit card purchase to track him with. A few careful keystrokes and the filth's account was drained. He worked through the rest of the day, feeling more relaxed and focused than he had in weeks. After arranging to have the next day off he returned home.

He stopped nurse Yarumi as she was leaving.

"Would you stay until I return tomorrow? I do not know how long I'll be gone but, I'll double your pay,"

"Yes sir, no problem," she replied, demurely, donning her coat and leaving. He settled down to his nightly routine of Duel Monsters followed by dinner and ending with him reading a story to Mokuba. For once he wasn't fighting to keep his eyes open. He hadn't felt so driven in a long time. After another day of watching his brother struggle with basic activities his heart burned with rage.

He had intended to wake up at six o'clock like usual but, he was up by four unable to fall back asleep and wound up killing time with paperwork until nurse Yarumi arrived at half past six. He was in his jet flying to a small airport in Northwest japan before seven. They touched down and he took the waiting rental car to the suspected address. The car was a non-descript four-door, no need to scare off the prey. He arrived at the house and knocked on the door to his target's apartment. No answer. With a sigh he picked the lock, a tricked he'd learned when Gozaburo had locked the food cupboards, at least until the bastard had disabused him of that notion…Bloodily.

He entered and found…nothing, not a scrap of furniture, nothing. Jack must have already run, that or it'd been a false trail to begin with. Kaiba drove his fist into the wall then sniffed a bit, dragging ragged breaths into his lungs. Deciding that curling up on the floor sobbing wasn't going to help find the bastard; he calmed down, relocked the door and began the drive back to the airport.

* * *

 **Struggle**

* * *

It had been six weeks since _it'd_ happened. Mokuba had his cast off and could walk steadier now but, according to the reports he got from the therapists his recovery was still lagging. He'd had the time to sit in on this rehab session, watching Mokuba test his fine motor skills by trying to place balls into holes in a board. It was painful to see a kid—his Mokie— struggle. He should have been able to do this with ease.

He just fucking wanted his brother to be okay. _Normal_ a voice in his head amended and he quickly shut it up. After the session was over and the therapist left, Mokie ran to him and clung sobbing. He wondered vaguely when his little Mokie had gotten into the habit of only crying in front of him. He'd missed it somewhere along the line. He gave him heart to see that even with everything that'd happened he was still growing up.

"I-I sssso sry..sry..sorry," he sobbed.

"For what? You haven't done anything wrong," he replied, rubbing circles on Mokie's back to console him.

"I sh-shshdnt have so muk touble," the boy sobbed.

"It's normal Mokie, the doctors said so," he replied with a shrug. Mokuba calmed slowly. Kaiba was running late by now but, gave exactly zero damns. Mokuba wiped his eyes.

"C-can you…." Mokuba trailed off.

"I'm sure I can but, you have to tell me what you need," he said, smirking with arrogance he didn't feel. Kaiba's ears were perked, this wasn't Mokuba having speech difficulties, he was just hesitant to ask.

"Can you make Y-Yg ..Yig….them not come?" he asked his lip shaking. Kaiba's eyes widened, he thought Mokuba liked having them around. He'd never claimed to be a good person and much to his guilt a small part of him would miss the hour of extra sleep he could sometimes grab, thanks to the arrangement.

"Easily but, would mind explaining why?" he asked.

"Pity…sadness th-they try to hide it but, I s-see," he responded despondently. Kaiba's first instinct was to lay down the law as to _exactly_ what he was paying for but, he could hardly blame them and it didn't sound intentional. Mokuba had always been annoyingly perceptive… _had._

"Yeah no problem," he said, hoarsely.

"D-d-dnt don't usik…up…" Mokuba changed tack. "Genta…gently," he said, eyes pleading understanding. Kaiba nodded.

"No problem," he said.

* * *

 **Raw**

* * *

Yugi was walking through the school yard with Jounouchi and Honda a few minutes before first bell. He saw Kaiba walking nearby, one of the rare days he'd actually showed up. It had been two months since the accident and Yugi could see from his slow gait and bowed head that the CEO was exhausted. It was a pity he still had to come to school, everyone knew he didn't need the education. Some random burly teen who's name Yugi didn't know, shoulder checked Kaiba but, he ignored it.

"Hey moron!" the unknown teen yelled. "The hell is your problem. If I had your life I wouldn't look so down. You want me to give you a problem money can't fix," he jeered. Kaiba turned around, his eyes icy and filled with hate.

"If money can fix everything would you mind giving me the name of the neurosurgeon who can fix my brother? Because I would _happily_ give him my entire fortune," he said. His voice was cold as ice though Yugi would have sworn he'd heard it crack at the end. Kaiba walked away leaving the larger teen gaping, confused. Even Jounouchi looked a bit disconcerted.

The day wore on without further incident until lunch came around. Seeing that Kaiba wasn't in the cafeteria Yugi went looking for him, ignoring Jounouchi's grumbling.

As expected he found Kaiba on the roof. He was sitting with his eyes closed, back against a piece of machinery, hands fisted on his knees.

"Hey you okay?" he asked. Kaiba grimaced at the sound of his voice.

"I will be," he said roughly. It was the closest thing to an admission of 'weakness' Yugi had ever heard from him.

"Is it about that kid from early because…" Yugi didn't get to finish.

"No that idiot," he stopped and licked his lips. "Was just an idiot," he finished.

"Has Mokuba gotten worse?" Yugi asked before he could stop himself. Kaiba swallowed a couple of times before shaking his head 'no'. He noticed that Kaiba's hands were shaking on his knees.

"Then what…?" Yugi asked, at a loss.

"I got a B…the teacher said I need to 'apply' myself more," he said with broken laugh, his voice cracking noticeably. He moved to wrap an arm around his knee, before catching himself.

"Okay so you had an off day, since when do you care about teachers?" Yugi asked, confused. Kaiba's breath was growing ragged.

"P-pathetic I know," he said. He leaned his head back against the machinery, putting a hand over his eyes. He took shuddering; exaggeratedly slow breaths, now obvious in his fight to control himself.

"No, that's not what I meant, it's understandable," he said gently. Sitting down next to the CEO and realizing for the first time, that he was only a couple years older than Yugi himself. Kaiba gave a snort. He put a hand on the other's shoulder, disturbed when he didn't get shaken off. "It's only reasonable that you'd have a raw nerve," Yugi said hesitantly, this was uncharted territory. Kaiba bowed his head.

"Try all of them," he said bitterly, with a sniff. Yugi was shocked by how vulnerable he sounded.

"Look…Seto Mokuba's going to get better," Yugi said awkwardly.

"That's what I keep telling him but…" his voice broke and he gave a sharp gasp, as though choking back a sob.

"You don't believe it," Yugi said sadly.

"It isn't the reality," he replied, after a long pause. They sat in silence for a while, Yugi not knowing what to say.

"You're not going away are you," he asked ruefully.

"If you ask me to," Yugi replied. Kaiba rubbed his face with the hand over it then wiped tears from each eye. They stayed like that for most of lunch period with Kaiba staring dry-eyed at nothing.

"Yugi…" Kaiba broke the silence.

"I won't say a word," Yugi replied.

"I was going to say stop touching me," he said. Yugi withdrew his hand but, saw the embarrassed smile and the gratitude in it.

* * *

 **Caught**

* * *

As embarrassing as the rooftop fiasco had been and loathe as he was to admit it, Yugi's efforts had helped. They'd gone about the rest of the day as though nothing had happened and Yugi had even offered to come visit Mokuba that night. He'd been sorely tempted, not sure that he could face Mokuba then but, responded with the truth, _'The offer is noted but, Mokuba still isn't ready for vistors'._ He hadn't missed Yugi's relief. So he'd gone home plastered on another confident smile and things returned to normal.

Another thing he was deeply grateful for, as far as he could tell from the few times he'd gone to school in the last couple weeks: Yugi never _did_ say anything. So until today the standard routine had continued, except that Mokuba no longer needed nurse Yarumi. A good thing for his confidence, even if it made Kaiba worry more. Today though, _today_ he'd found Jack again. He'd gotten Yarumi's service on short notice by offering triple pay and was now pulling into his enemy's driveway.

He knocked on the door and heard scrambling.

"Don't bother trying to run, it will just make our meeting worse," he said. The door opened cautiously. Kaiba silently walked to a table and set down a small metal contraption, then pulled out a gun, cultural custom be damned. Jack paled and his legs started shaking. "You know why I'm here?" Jack nodded. "I will give you a choice: either we play a game of duel monsters. When you lose life points you hit the button on your side, I do the same. At some random point a bolt will be shot into the heart of whomever presses it, or I shoot you," he finished flourishing the gun.

"Game," Jack yelped.

"Get a deck," he said. Jack dutifully retrieved one.

"Please sir, I'm begging you. I had nothing to do with it," Jack pleaded.

"Right, then why did you run. I've been looking for you for a long time," he said silkily.

"I-I heard you were looking into me. I knew you'd never believe me so…" he tried to explain.

"Then why did the woman identify you," he asked. Jack paled further.

"I have no idea," he said, trembling. Kaiba hesitated.

"Sit there," he said gesturing with the gun. Jack sat in the chair. Kaiba ran a quick google search on his phone and felt the blood drain from his face. Valdez's sister Charity was fine, her team had just won a soccer championship.

* * *

 **Sunshine**

* * *

It had been three months and he'd found out a grand total of three things about Valdez. One: her sister was happy, healthy and _hated_ her. Two: she'd gotten back to Colombia and even his reach could no longer find her. Three: she'd played him like a cheap harp to get out of the reckless driving charge. He was furious and could do absolutely nothing about it. Why had he not checked out her story immediately?

Mokuba had picked up on his mood and he was trying to let it go but, couldn't seem to. He watched Mokuba going through another round of speech exercises in their living room.

"I..stopped and… stared at the store," he said slowly and leaped up.

"Hey f-first try. I got it frist…first try Seto," he said hugging Kaiba. Kaiba hugged him back, his improvement obvious and gratifying. Though the rest of the session he'd shown similar gains.

Kaiba took him out for ice-cream afterwards and he haltingly ordered for himself. Mokie walked away with a watery smile and Kaiba strode ahead of him to conceal the happy tears in his own eyes.

That night he settled Mokuba down to bed and for the first in weeks felt hope.

* * *

 **Truth**

* * *

Four long months had gone by. Mokuba seemed to take two steps forward and a step and a half back. He was exhausted but, happy to see himself improving and Kaiba tried to keep his spirits up. They said he would likely regain close to, if not complete motor function within a year or two and while he'd probably always be glitchy, his speech would become functional with time and effort.

He ate supper with Mokuba who was smiling contentedly, having been able to tell Kaiba exuberantly, about the progress he'd made that day. Kaiba smiled back, glad to see him relaxed. The truth niggled at the back of his mind. In all likelihood he would never be more than a recreational duelist. Finishing school on time would be highly doubtful and anything beyond a high school diploma, not something to bank on by any stretch.

Then again he'd played stiff odds before and come out on top. At any rate Mokuba didn't know the truth and he didn't need to. The truth that woke Kaiba panting in the night and had him fighting tears in the few solitary minutes he had, before getting ready for work in the morning. The cold, hard fact that the Mokuba he had once had would probably never come back. That because he had been unable to protect him, his brother would never be whole again. He was alive though and doing better, that should be all that mattered. He didn't know whether to hope for Mokuba to recover enough, to grasp the truth or to hope he never knew what he'd lost. Kaiba would be more than happy to carry the burden if it spared his Mokie more pain.

* * *

 **Chance: Bonus vignette for N. itch  
**

* * *

Isono had been working on a project with Kaiba late into the night and had been allowed to remain in a guest room so that they could finish the next day. The CEO's logic being that they would have finished the night before, had he not needed to spend time with Mokuba. Isono didn't say anything since it wasn't his place but, it bothered him to see how worn the CEO was getting. Yes he'd been around more than long enough to notice.

He woke up a little before six in the morning and was walking down the hallway to the bathroom, when he literally ran into his employer.

"I'm sorry sir," he said, embarrassed by his carelessness.

"Watch where you're going," Kaiba said. Isono was taken aback. The other man usually wasn't quite so harsh, not to him at least …everyone else was a different matter. He took in his boss's expression. It was startled and wait…were there tears in his eyes? For the first time since Kaiba's takeover, he remembered that he worked for a seventeen year-old. He was so tired of this shit. An impulse seized him, _fuck it._

"Sir you should know, you're going to fire me," he said. He saw Kaiba's eyes widen in surprise and confusion. Isono hugged his boss. To his surprise, after remaining stiff for a second, Kaiba fairly collapsed against him. After a few moments Seto drew a shuddering breath and it almost brought tears to Isono's eyes. How had he not seen exactly how bad it was? Why hadn't he done this sooner? A few moments passed with neither sound nor motion, other than a trembling so faint that Isono wasn't even sure it was there. Seto stiffened and pulled away his eyes glistening and bloodshot, nose running a little. Isono tried not to notice.

"Why?" Seto rasped. His expression was a shockingly unguarded, mix of wonder and gratitude.

"I figured it hadn't occurred to anyone else," Isono said. Seto continued in the direction he'd been going.

"Take the day off. We'll pick it up tomorrow," Kaiba said without looking back.


End file.
